Edward Halbach

1931 - 2017

Edward C. Halbach, Jr.

November 8,1931 - June 1, 2017

Edward C. Halbach, Jr. Professor emeritus (dean, 1966-75), School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley.

Professor Halbach was born in 1931 in Clinton, Iowa, and died a resident of Berkeley, California on June 1, 2017.

Professor Halbach and his wife were married in 1953 following their graduations from the University of Iowa, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts (Economics) and Juris Doctor degrees. Thereafter, he received his Master of Laws from Harvard University, and later an honorary LL.D. from the University of Redlands. A prolific scholar of tax, trusts and estates, Ed changed American law with his scholarship. His volume on the Prudent Investor Rule laid the foundations for legislation that served as the model for statutes adopted throughout the United States. With the American Law Institute he wrote the Restatement of Trusts, and with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Law he helped write laws that were adopted across the country. He started California Indian Legal Services, which eventually became the Native American Rights Foundation. As a teacher, he was known for his clarity and humor.

Professor Halbach served as president of The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and as chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, as well as serving as the division director of that section's Probate and Trust Division. He was a member of the American College of Tax Counsel, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the American Law Institute (serving as an adviser on several of its projects) and the Uniform Law Commission's Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Acts. His other long-term activities included being editor of the Estate Planning and California Probate Reporter and serving on the editorial board of Estate Planning Magazine. He also served on the governing board of California Continuing Education of the Bar and on the adjunct faculty of the University of Miami Graduate Estate Planning Program.

Professor Halbach received the Treat "Award for Excellence" (National College of Probate Judges), the Tweed "Award for Special Merit in Continuing Legal Education" (ALI/ABA), and the University of California's "U.C. Berkeley Citation" for extraordinary service to U.C. Berkeley. He held the A. James Casner Reporter's Chair of the American Law Institute, and later was selected as a member of the Estate Planning Hall of Fame (National Association of Estate Planning Councils). In 2010 he was recognized with Berkeley Law's Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. During its presentation, he was described as a distinguished scholar, influential lawyer, and – not least by any means – "a man of good will and charm."

Named Dean of the law school in 1966 at age 34, Ed was not only the youngest dean in America, he also took the helm at a calamitous time in the United States and on the Berkeley campus. Facing intense student protests over the Vietnam War and other issues of the day, Ed relied on his bottomless store of goodwill and amazing calm to lead the law school. One alumnus credits Ed with keeping the law school together during that incredibly difficult time, describing Ed's guidance as follows: "Even in the most tumultuous days, Dean Halbach's basic decency and frankness prevailed. He will always be my ideal of a dean who was a gifted scholar, deft administrator and kind human being."

Ed combined a self-deprecating sense of humor with extraordinary analytical abilities. Equally important, he treated the faculty and the students like family. According to an alumnus, "Ed and his wife Jan welcomed even the bearded scruffies of the class of '74 into their home. He made us all feel like we were part of something bigger."

Although not an alumnus, he received the Boalt Hall Alum of the Year Award following his deanship, and former students and professional colleagues later endowed a chair in his honor the University of California, Berkeley "Boalt Hall" Law School.

Ed is survived by his wife of 63 years, Janet Halbach, five children, Kristin H. Field (Evan) of Windsor, California, Edward C. Halbach, III (Connie) of Winters, California, Kathleen H. Timpson (Al) of Pleasant Hill, California, Thomas E. Halbach (Claudia) of Berkeley, California, and Elaine H. Bryant (Joel) of Denver, Colorado, thirteen grandchildren, seven great grandchildren (with an eighth due the end of this month), a sister and one of his brothers.

Friends are invited to celebrate Ed's life on Saturday July 1st at 2:00 p.m. in the Stadium Club at Cal's Memorial Stadium.

Should anyone wish to make a donation in Ed's memory, three of his favorite donees are Boalt Hall, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Southern Poverty Law Center.